Interference at the VA
Manny is at the Table
Good Morning, Breakfastpoppers. Today is Wednesday, February 18, 2015. Our soulful friend, Mantis Manny, is with me this morning at the breakfast table. His concern for the treatment our veterans are receiving at VA hospitals is ongoing. He has asked for the pleasure of your company this morning, because he would like to bring you up to date about this most important matter. Manny will be baking fresh croissants. I will be mixing up a batch of Jamaican coffees for your enjoyment. We look forward to your arrival.
The Bill Passes and is Signed
Thank you all for coming here this morning. Let me get right to the point. In August of 2014, the Senate passed the VA Reform Bill. The bill provided $17 billion to deal with the serious problems plaguing the VA. The money was allocated to address long patient waiting lists. Our veterans were left out in the cold and they were not getting the treatment they so deserved. The bill, as written, provided $10 billion to allow veterans who had to deal with unacceptably long waiting periods to seek private medical care. The waiting period was designated too long if an appointment could not be secured within 30 days of calling. The same option was open to veterans who lived more than 40 miles away from a VA hospital. The legislation also required the VA to report to lawmakers exactly how they planned to better their system for scheduling. The bill, as passed, does not provide funding for this requirement. Does anyone imagine that Congress will be getting regular updates? But what about the rest of the bill?
Trouble in the Air
Veterans will be issued "Choice Cards" that are supposed to allow them to see a physician in a private setting. President Obama's budget is attempting to grab the $10 billion set aside for this program. He prefers it to be used in any way the VA top people want to spend it. The train has already come off the tracks and we have only just begun. The fools in the White House have decided to trust the very people at the VA who screwed everything up in the first place. The excuse for this move is hideously explained by VA secretary Robert McDonald. Mr. McDonald believes that if bureaucrats are in charge the "system" will be better served. Is this the same system that failed so miserably? Is this the same system that allowed so many of our nation's heroes to die while waiting for treatment? Clearly, Mr. McDonald is trying to preserve a system that he and others are comfortable with. Keep in mind, it is the same system that failed. He went on to explain that our veterans weren't really that much interested in choice. I am surprised his nose didn't grow 10 feet when he uttered those words. Our veterans will be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
The Truth
Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America has reported that veterans are getting the runaround when they call the VA for permission to use the Choice Card. I wish I was surprised, but I am not. Whatever these agencies touch turns to garbage. Congress had better jump on this turn of events quickly. Forget about long investigations. Ask the veterans about the situation and hold those causing this mess accountable. In fact, fire their bureaucratic uncaring, incompetent behinds. We don't have time or patience for this business as usual" mediocrity. Our nation's veterans deserve better treatment and they still aren't getting it. A recent poll found that 88 percent of vets polled felt it was incredibly important to increase their choices. If the VA manages this money, they will manage to put it all in the wrong hands and places. They will use it keep their institution going, not to better it. They're already filling the air with statements and 'VA speak" that make not one drop of sense. I can only assume that those working at the VA are working for themselves and not for the people they are supposed to be serving. Shame on them!
Manny's Song
The momnt I wake up
Before I stretch my wings
I say a little prayer for our vets.
Manny's Song
Comments
- Author
Good Morning francine,
So sorry for upsetting you. Fp feels the same way. Get to the Inn and I will buy both of you dinner and drinks. As for fixing this mess, the people running this mess of a show have to go. They need to be replaced with talented people who actually know how to solve problems. Better yet, replace the VA with a private organization that cares and knows how to translate the caring into action.
- Author
Good Morning taxlarry,
That's what I would like to know. Let's face it, there are way too many people who just don't give a damn about anyone or anything. See you at Inn.
Pop,
I shouldn't read your hub before bedtime! The anger and frustration I feel, I fear will keep me awake for hours. The passion expressed by you and your fantastic group of commenters and authors was passed from the computer screen into my very soul...I feel that this situation, along with so many issues handled by our government, is is so hopeless. The only way to help these brave men and women is for all of us to keep contributing to organizations like Wounded Warrior Project. We, the people, have to keep trying to right the wrongs of our government. I hope the inn stays open late....maybe I'll be fortunate enough to see you there!!
It is deplorable what is happening with our heroic vets. I pray things will turn around. Thanks B Pop for another great political issue.
Saw American Sniper today. I agree that congress, etc should have to go to th VA is a great suggestion. Things would change! To treat our brave men and women so terribly is a crime. My question is What the f$&@ is wrong with the idiots that run the VA and this country?
- Author
Dear tsadjatko,
Ben Carson is a fine man. He could turn the VA around in a New York Minute. He would also tuRn this country around, because he loves America, he's smart and he is not a politician!!!!
- Author
Dear Mike,
I support the Wounded Warrior Project, as well. They are a terrific organization that knows how to get things done. If I didn't support them, I swear I couldn't sleep at night.
- Author
Dear Pino,
Shame on Congress, shame on this administration, shame on the VA and shame on everyone who voted this loser into office. I'll meet you at the Inn.
- Author
Dear Mike,
You are positively brilliant!!
- Author
Dear fp,
Once again I apologize for making you insane. Next I want to thank you for caring so much that you go crazy. It's funny, today, after watching American Sniper, I said I wanted to ship Obummer off to ISIS . He could spend his time trying to enroll them in college courses so they could get a better job than slicing off the heads of innocent people. I am off to the Inn and then I think I need to lie down. See you there.
- Author
Dear Frog Prince,
Ranting is necessary and par for the course when it comes to this president and the psychos who still believe in him. I lose my mind just thinking about the vets and the way they are being treated. I have to say, I saw American Sniper today and it deserves an Academy Award for portraying this war on terror the way it really is. To imagine that our veterans come home and are moved to the back burner makes me wild!!!! See you at the Inn.
- Author
Dear tsadjatko,
With this president and this Congress, I can't see things changing at all. I don't know what is happening, but our nation has ceased to function. In the meantime, our vets are suffering and that is completely unacceptable. I'll be at the Inn.
http://www.tribeuniverse.com/Paradise/Smileys/defa...
Think Dr. Ben Carson
- Author
Dear DJ,
The hideous scandal at the VA should have been our number one priority. Frankly, I am ashamed of Congress on both sides of the aisle and I am disgusted with this president. Our heroes are dying because of negligence and a selfish interest in "what's in it for me." I think there are good people in the VA, but there are plenty who should do time for their actions. See you at the Inn. It exists only in our minds, but it is place where truth matters and people still care about each other.
- Author
Dear Will,
I am so sick of "politicians". The day we elect a really talented non-politician to the presidency is the day we start to get things right. So many people at the VA deserve to lose their jobs. This money will not be spent wisely along as the fools are still in charge.
The only way this will ever change is when we citizens step up and start doing something about it. This administration hates organizations such as Wounded Warriors because they make them look bad. I for one support this organization and a couple more to boot.
If the government were doing what was right there would be no need for other groups to step up and pick up the slack.
Our governments treatment of Veterans makes me sick.
POP: It is disgraceful that our government treats our veterans so poorly.
they all should come home and be welcome as heroes. What do you need?
A Job? Medical Care? a decent home to live in? But instead, we try to get them out of our way. They are too much trouble. Shameful. they put their life on the line to keep us safe; we treat them like crap in return. This needs to change, and NOW! off to the bar....
Your most likely 100% on the money. Gee, with all the chairs in Congress empty we could solve a bunch of problems in a hurry.
Yes, things would change! Congress would vote to extend Unemployment benefits to 10 years, the staff would all go on unemployment and the congress would all quit and no one would run for office again.
Ah, but the unintended consequence is good, it would be that there would be no one around to kick the VA problem down the road any more.
I thought of a way to fix the VA problems overnight.
Put out a notice that effective immediately, all Federal Employees and their families to include members of Congress and the White House staff will now use the VA for all of their medical care.
You think anything would change?
yes, Yes, YES!!! http://www.whatshesaidradio.com/wp-content/uploads...
Sorry to say this pop.....but I wish I didn't insist on reading every single one of your hubs. I really could have done without this one. Very little riles me to the point of such anger, frustration & DISGUST than this Country's treatment of our Vets.....those men & women who WITHOUT them, we'd be no better off than poverty-stricken, oppressed, disease-laden Nations run by insane dictators & murderous savages. Yeah, that's RIGHT......our VETERANS are responsible for our very lives, freedom and rights.....our safe & protected butts! In a word....they are America.
The V.A healthcare debacle should have NEVER gotten to where it was. SHAME doesn't even cover what this Country should feel. Period!
Now that "something" has finally been done.....they are in a position to screw it up again or even worse? Pop....I have to end here or I just KNOW I'll be banned from HP.....if not surrounded by Secret Service, the FBI and CIA......DAMN!!! I want to dress Barry in fatigues, stick a rifle in his hands and ship him off to a tour of duty in the most dangerous of areas that exists......with his JV team of ISIS brothers.
OH yeah? really Frog, ranting is my department! watch it there buddy! ;-)...but that was a good one, I approve.
Great analysis of the situation. I retire from the Army in 1992 and was told by veterans before I did to avoid the VA medical non-care system. Never been there and don't want to go, despite having a partial disability. Looking at the problems at the VA should alert people of the problems that Obamacare will breed only worse. McDonald had the audacity the other week to ask a war veteran Congressman "what had he done lately?" I would have maybe gotten up and smacked his ass plumb off those seat cushions he had dumb ass propped on. Seems like Obama wants every pompous ass in charge of something in his failed administration. Failure just breeds more failure.
Sorry this one caused me to rant as it hit a frog nerve with me. Great work though.
The Frog Prince
So true DJ, as you say we should all feel a bit of shame and a great bit of anger!
Shame for not voting (60% of the electorate doesn't vote - what a difference they alone could make), shame for not caring about anything beyond our own personal lives, shame for not educating ourselves and others on the issues and the secret agendas of special interests, the tactics and the puppets they use, shame for taking our freedoms for granted, shame for taking our brave for granted, shame for not doing our part to deserve them and the protection they provide at the risk of not only their lives but the quality of their and their families' lives.
And
ANGER that in the greatest country to ever have graced the face of the earth frivolous spending on everything from welfare to special interests, wrought with waste and fraud is our first priority while the care and interests of those who risk all they have, life, limb and liberty, is always inadequate, on the back burner or kicked down the road.
If we as a nation expect to be around another 300 years that scenario must be flipped and not tomorrow but yesterday. A country won't survive when the cost to defend it is more than the country is worth.
This subject is near and dear to my heart.
The men and women who went when called and
came back changed forever are standing in lines for help.
Is it any wonder that emotional issues and suicide runs rampant
with our veterans? We should all feel a bit of shame and a great bit of anger.
Thank you for this write.
DJ.
Politicians like the power of being in control (which is why they're politicians!), so they're not about to give it up. They're control freaks, plain and simple.
That's the same reason they fight against school vouchers...they won't be able to control what our kids are taught.
That's also why they hate the FairTax...they won't be able to snoop into our paychecks and bank accounts, or manipulate us with tax breaks.
- Author
Good Morning billy,
The private sector is better able to handle this mess. This job is too important to leave in the hands of government hacks. See you at the Inn, billy.
- Author
Dear Tom,
And so the spin will begin. The idiots responsible for this continuing disaster all have blood on their hands. See you at the Inn.
- Author
Dear Mike,
I don't know how these losers sleep at night.
We are in complete agreement this morning, Pop. The treatment of our veterans is shameful...a national disgrace....and it needs to change immediately no matter the cost. Keep shouting from the rooftops and I'll be right alongside you on this topic.
Pop and Manny,
I heard another tale of VA efficiency yesterday. The mother of Eddie Ray Routh, killer of American Sniper Chris Kyle testified that her son had been trying to get VA disability payments for several years but they only started after the news reports of the murder. I can just hear the conversation in the VA.
Pop and Manny,
I heard another tale of VA efficiency yesterday. The mother of Eddie Ray Routh, killer of American Sniper Chris Kyle testified that her son had been trying to get VA disability payments for several years but they only started after the news reports of the murder. I can just hear the conversation in the VA.
Washington is well known for having the fox watch the hen house. Many private firms could run the VA better and cheaper than the Politicians. Nobody in their right mind would argue with more funding for medical treatment for our veterans. But if it was run privately, this would put a lid on the money pot and the Politicians could no longer use it as their private piggy bank. That is why this will never happen.
- Author
Good Morning, Mike,
I agree. The VA should be run privately. Government bureaucrats can't do a damn thing right. In the meantime, while they fiddle around veterans are dying. I have no doubt that this money will be spent to perpetuate the status quo. I'll be at the Inn on the early side.
Manny - You happened to touch on a subject that makes my blood boil. The corruption and mismanagement in the VA system is disgusting. The investigation into the needless deaths caused by this is and was a joke.
The report on how many were fired turns out to be yet another lie. Many of those responsible for these needless deaths still receieved large cash bonus checks rather than the jail time they deserved.
Now these billions of dollars will be set aside to improve the VA system healthcare for our vets. But how much of this money will actually be spent to "fix" the problem? In Washington it doesn't seem to matter what pot the money goes into. If they decide to fund a "Mating habits of butterflys" study they reach into any pot they want to for the funds. We also know that many of these so called research grant studies go to friends and family members of Politicians that can make it happen. And in many cases, some of this cash falls straight into the pockets of those very Politicians.
To ever really fix the VA healthcare problems the entire program needs to be taken out of the hands of beaurocrats and managed by a private firm. I would bet that someone like Dr, Ben Carson could fix this entire system in a very short time. But I can assure you that in the process many would be fired and the bonus checks would stop.
With all of that being said, there are some truly wonderful and dedicated people who work for the VA. I know some of them personally and they are very frustrated with the way things are run. The problems with the VA are primarily at the very top rungs of the ladder. Until most of them are replaced, nothing will really change.
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